Most communication systems involve a number of system-cards. Such cards are usually manufactured as so-called printed circuit boards (PCBs).
Because of the ever increasing requirements in data rates, due for example to the Internet, the limits of using electrical communications are being reached. It has become difficult to guarantee good signal integrity over the electrical lines.
To respond to this bandwidth demand, high speed systems are now being built with an optical layer (an optical fibre or a planar waveguide) incorporated in replacement of the electrically-conducting metal. Indeed, light does not suffer from the same limitations as electricity.
Optical coupling devices are usually used to interconnect an optical layer of a PCB, or so-called optical circuit board (OCB), with an external optical device.
In order to ensure efficient transfer of light through the optical coupling device, a very precise positioning of it along a vertical direction with respect to the optical circuit board is necessary. Then, a fixation part of the optical coupling device is glued to a fixation surface of the optical circuit board.
However, after gluing, repositioning, rework or change of the optical coupling device, requested in particular if misalignment occurs, are very difficult to carry out, not to say impossible.